No one would believe those words.

Because Zhou Jingze looked exactly like a playboy who treated the world as a game, someone whose sincerity could never be exchanged for sincerity.

But people really had no reason to lie in a game. Bai Jiajia thought, propping her chin – so he was stuck in his last relationship, unable to let go. But five or six years was really too long.

The matter of pursuing him had become even more troublesome.

The expressions of everyone present varied. Even Liang Shuang’s face showed stunned bewilderment. Xu Sui’s face showed no particular expression. She had a faint smile at the corner of her lips as she leaned forward, knocked over the wine bottle in front of Zhou Jingze, and pushed it to spin:

“Come on, next round.”

She had moved the topic along.

The scene became lively again. The night was deep. Xu Sui checked the time – 10:30. She had to work tomorrow, so she got up to find Li Yang and say goodbye.

Xu Sui gave him a generous hug and smiled: “Happy birthday, friend.”

Not long after, by 11 o’clock, everyone was gradually leaving. Zhou Jingze still sat there, drinking glass after glass, with wine bottles piled up in front of him.

Zhou Jingze leaned forward slightly, one hand propped on his thigh, the other picking up a Corona from the table. He aligned the bottle cap’s serrated edge with the table edge – “click” – the cap fell off, dropping to the floor.

A hand with distinct bone structure was about to bring the bottle to his mouth when it was snatched away by another hand. Li Yang was cleaning up the table, his leather shoes kicking a wooden crate forward as he threw empty bottles into it.

“You think this is a bar?”

Li Yang sat down beside him, drinking from the bottle he’d just taken from Zhou Jingze. He should be the one drinking – if not for tonight’s events, he wouldn’t have known he never had a chance from the start.

So Xu Sui was his ex-girlfriend.

But Li Yang was someone who let things go easily. Fine then, at least the benefits stayed within the circle.

Zhou Jingze leaned back against the sofa, his Adam’s apple forming a smooth curve. The light from the floor-to-ceiling windows cut his profile into rebellious, dejected angles.

He asked: “After breaking up, did she really date two people?”

Li Yang nodded, thinking: “I don’t know the first one, but she brought the second one to dinner with us once—”

Before he could finish, the figure beside him stood up. Zhou Jingze grabbed his jacket and headed out, leaving behind: “Thanks for the drinks.”

Li Yang was a bit angry. He hadn’t even finished speaking – how could he have no presence at all? So he deliberately shouted loudly to provoke him: “The men Xu Sui dated were all excellent in every way, not inferior to you at all!”

Zhou Jingze was going down the steps when he heard this. His footsteps stopped, and he turned back. His gaze shot straight at Li Yang, his expression somewhat dark, each word deliberate: “Xu Sui isn’t for you to call by nickname.”

—

After Xu Sui returned home, showered, and washed her clothes, she inexplicably wanted to drink again. She hadn’t expected that after going to Hong Kong to study following their breakup, she’d developed a liking for alcohol.

She picked up her phone and keys from the table, put on pajamas and cotton slippers, and ran downstairs. In the convenience store, Xu Sui stuffed a bunch of beer along with milk and sandwiches for tomorrow’s breakfast into a white plastic bag, making rustling sounds.

After paying, Xu Sui pushed open the glass door and came out of the convenience store. Cars drove by one after another in the distance. A cold wind blew, making her instinctively scrunch her shoulders.

She carried the plastic bag of beer on her elbow, walking toward the residential complex while pulling out a can of draft beer, hooking the pull tab with her index finger, pressing her thumb against the aluminum surface, and pulling up.

“Click” – the tab opened. Xu Sui raised the beer and took a sip, the coldness filling her mouth along with a hint of sweetness.

Xu Sui held the beer can and even lowered her head to lick the foam on the aluminum surface with her tongue tip.

Drinking as she walked to her residential building, the voice-activated lights here were broken. She casually looked up and vaguely saw someone leaning against the wall in the corridor, smoking intermittently. His tall figure was surrounded by darkness, with orange-red cigarette butts scattered on the ground.

Xu Sui walked into the corridor, feeling afraid. She reached into her pocket for her phone to turn on the flashlight. Her hand was shaking as she was about to turn it on when suddenly, a figure loomed over her.

Before she could react, a strong hand gripped Xu Sui’s wrist. In the spinning confusion, Xu Sui found herself pressed against the wall. She screamed in fright, then caught her breath when she smelled the familiar scent of the man.

So it was him.

Xu Sui tried to push him away and leave, but her wrist was caught by the man and held high above her head. His whole body pressed against her, overwhelming masculine presence washing over her.

“Bang” – the large bag of beer crashed to the ground.

One can rolled to the man’s feet.

Zhou Jingze’s eyes stared at her intensely, dark and sharp like bottomless rock, naked desire evident. At this moment he was like a long-dormant caged beast – dark, oppressive.

That gaze seemed ready to slowly peel her open, then devour her.

“What are you doing—” Xu Sui looked up, panic rising in her heart.

The word “doing” had barely formed a syllable when it was swallowed. An oppressive shadow enveloped her as Zhou Jingze gripped her chin with one hand, leaning down to kiss her, absorbing all her sounds into his lips and tongue.

His tongue tip seemed to carry the taste of rusted iron, cold, making Xu Sui’s heart catch, followed by plundering, possession. Wherever he touched ignited fierce flames.

Xu Sui’s hands were pinned against the wall, fingers interlocked. She could only make muffled sounds of protest. The wall was cold, but the person pressing against her had a hard, burning chest. The contrast of cold and heat made her feel like she couldn’t breathe, like a fish out of water, parched all over.

Xu Sui’s chest heaved violently, which only made it more convenient for Zhou Jingze to press closer. He used his knee to separate her legs, bringing his lips to her ear, his tongue tip tracing her ear, meticulously outlining every curve, leaving wetness.

The corridor remained dark. People occasionally returned home to the complex, parking, red car lights brightening then dimming. Some had just returned from walking their dogs, voices drifting near and far.

Xu Sui kept fearing someone would come, her nerves taut, toes involuntarily curling, while trying to dodge Zhou Jingze’s kisses.

The man seemed dissatisfied with her fidgeting. His thumb pressed against her forehead as he bit her earlobe, licking the small red mole there.

Xu Sui made a “hiss” sound, her voice broken: “If you… want to act like a rogue, find someone else.”

Zhou Jingze turned his head to kiss her lips again, his voice low, hoarse, and domineering: “I only act this way with you.”

He kissed her earnestly and intensely. Xu Sui was drowning in his scent, unable to think due to oxygen deprivation. Everywhere he kissed felt electric currents passing through, tingling and numb.

Zhou Jingze was addictive – one touch and you’d fall.

Xu Sui’s hands pressed against the wall, forcefully scratching at the surface until her nails hurt, white lime falling down. The pain brought her gradually back to her senses.

He kissed too forcefully and fiercely. When their saliva mingled, Xu Sui bit down hard. Blood immediately spread through both their mouths, carrying a fishy taste. Zhou Jingze loosened his grip in pain, and Xu Sui seized the opportunity to push him away.

“Don’t come any closer.” Xu Sui looked at him as she spoke, wiping her lips with her hand.

Xu Sui looked at him, her tone sincere: “We broke up a long time ago, but I still hope you’re doing well.”

She wasn’t the type to wish ill on ex-boyfriends after breaking up. So she cared about his grounding, cared about his current situation – but that was the extent of it.

Zhou Jingze took another step forward, looking at this woman he’d spent years thinking about, flying across oceans and continents, crossing deserts, obsessing over day and night.

When she calmly and composed told him this relationship was in the past, every organ in his body felt suffocated.

She seemed like an outsider.

“Xu Sui, I waited for you all these years.” Zhou Jingze looked directly at her, his tone heavy.

Xu Sui turned her face away, a tear falling between her fingers. She didn’t look at him: “I didn’t ask you to wait.”

The light was dim. Xu Sui took out her phone and opened a ride-hailing app: “You’re drunk. I’ll call you a car to take you home.”

Near midnight, half the moon was hidden in clouds, light flickering on both their bodies. There seemed to be a clear dividing line between them.

One living in the past, one living in the present.

Zhou Jingze looked at Xu Sui and suddenly smiled self-mockingly for no reason: “So that time was real.”

His voice was too quiet. Xu Sui didn’t catch it clearly: “What?”

Zhou Jingze pulled cigarettes and a lighter from his pocket, shook out a cigarette from the pack, bit it between his lips. The lighter clicked, and he cupped his hand around the flame.

He looked down casually, his voice incredibly hoarse when he spoke: “Let me ask you something.”

“What?”

Zhou Jingze took a drag, removed the cigarette, his gaze locked on her: “Is there really no possibility anymore?”

Gray-white smoke rose from his slender fingertips, blurring her vision. Xu Sui looked at him – Zhou Jingze in his black jacket, one hand in his pocket, chin raised, full of pride, very handsome, the boy she’d liked for a long time.

He was looking at her.

Waiting for her answer.

Xu Sui nodded. Zhou Jingze understood her message, stepped back. She saw something break in his eyes, then return to cold indifference.

“Got it.”

Zhou Jingze left after saying this. The wind was strong, blowing his collar askew. He casually raised his hand to fix it, but it blew crooked again. This time he completely ignored it.

His phone buzzed. Zhou Jingze took it out – a friend asking if he wanted to drink. He typed one word: [Going.]

He randomly hailed a taxi. The car stopped in front of him. He got in sideways, slamming the door shut with a “bang,” shutting out all the lights and human warmth outside.

The car slowly moved forward. Zhou Jingze propped his elbow on the window, squinting as he recalled certain things.

The day after their breakup, he’d gone to find Xu Sui to reconcile, only to receive the evaluation “disgusting.” Young and proud, always the golden boy, his self-esteem shattered, he left in anger.

Zhou Jingze spent a whole week depressed, completely out of sorts. It happened to coincide with final exams, and for the first time in his life, he did terribly, earning harsh criticism from a respected teacher.

“If you’re in this kind of soul-lost state, who would dare get on a plane you’re piloting!” The teacher slammed documents in front of him.

Zhou Jingze said nothing. After barely surviving the long exam period and returning home to calm down, he thought what Xu Sui said must have been said in anger.

He ran to Xu Sui’s school to find her. Zhou Jingze stood under the girls’ dormitory building, smoking several cigarettes before waiting for someone.

But it wasn’t Xu Sui who came down.

“Where’s Xu Sui?” Zhou Jingze asked.

“Ah—” Hu Qianxi glanced at him, her tone careful: “She went to Hong Kong to study, exchange program for a year. Didn’t she tell you?”

Who could have imagined that in just one week, the building would be empty? Who exactly was heartless?

Hu Qianxi said Xu Sui finished her exams, immediately packed, returned to Li Ying, then went to Hong Kong. Zhou Jingze stood there quietly like a silent statue, cigarette ash falling from between his fingers, burning his palm with dull pain.

When he started planning their future, Xu Sui left more decisively than anyone with a resolute gesture.

She left first.

In August during summer vacation, Zhou Jingze tried to contact her. Anxious yet hopeful, he dialed her number, only to hear a cold female voice: Sorry, the number you have dialed is out of service…

Hu Qianxi absolutely refused to give Zhou Jingze Xu Sui’s contact information. With no other option, he tried calling the phone number where he and Xu Sui had once sent wrong messages – Xu Sui’s grandmother’s phone.

After a long wait, “click” – finally connected. A “hello” came through, not the expected elderly voice, but a middle-aged woman’s voice.

Zhou Jingze unconsciously sat up straighter, speaking politely yet restrainedly: “Auntie, hello, this is Zhou Jingze. I’m looking for Xu—”

Before he could finish, Xu Sui’s mother abruptly interrupted, her voice gentle yet cutting: “Little Zhou, right? You two broke up, didn’t you? Xu Sui has already gone to Hong Kong. Auntie wants to ask you – could you please stop looking for her? Before, she almost gave up her opportunity to go to Hong Kong because of you. When she came home, she often cried and wouldn’t eat. Only after asking did I learn she was dating.”

“Little Zhou, maybe for children from good families like yours, this isn’t much, but our Xu Sui can’t afford delays. As a parent, I just hope for my child’s success. Besides, you’re both still young, and feelings are temporary. If you still like her in a few years, then come find her, okay? At least not now.”

What Xu Sui’s mother said made perfect sense – the earnest hope of a single parent wanting their child to succeed. Zhou Jingze wanted to argue but couldn’t. He lowered his eyes, his voice hoarse: “Thank you, Auntie. Sorry to disturb you.”

Later Zhou Jingze joined the workforce, right when he was at his peak, his career flourishing.

He flew all over the world – landing, taking off again. He seemed too busy to think about anyone.

But one landing, perhaps because it was too late that day and his emotions couldn’t hold up, he couldn’t help himself.

Zhou Jingze went to find Xu Sui.

On the way to find her, he kept thinking – surely this time would work? They were both grown up now, both capable, both quite excellent in their respective fields. Parental obstacles shouldn’t be an issue standing between them anymore, right?

As long as she still liked him.

He parked his car not far from her building and saw a familiar slender figure. He immediately unlocked the door to get out. But as the person approached and his view became clear, there was a man standing next to Xu Sui.

That day was very cold with snow falling. Xu Sui’s eyelashes and nose tip were red from the cold. The man standing across from her immediately took off his scarf and gently wrapped it around her.

Zhou Jingze watched for only three seconds, then with an expressionless face, stepped on the gas and drove past the two of them, splashing them with muddy water.

That night, Zhou Jingze told Sheng Nanzhou about this. Sheng Nanzhou, always simple and optimistic, advised: “Brother, seeing isn’t necessarily believing. Don’t make it like an idol drama where the male lead goes to find the female lead, sees her with another man, and they miss each other. Maybe that man was Xu Sui’s brother or relative? Don’t overthink it.”

Zhou Jingze was skeptical but finally buried the matter in his heart.

His desire to reconcile retreated.

Until now, Zhou Jingze had harbored a faint hope that what he saw wasn’t what he thought. Now it seemed the man he encountered back then was probably Xu Sui’s boyfriend.

Zhou Jingze couldn’t describe the feeling – his heart being cut back and forth by a dull knife, wave after wave of discomfort.

He wasn’t angry that Xu Sui had dated boyfriends – he just had no confidence left.

The car window rolled down, damp air rushed in. One cigarette burned out, and he stubbed it out and threw it away. The cigarette made a weak arc in mid-air, then disappeared.

No one would wait forever in the same place for someone else.

She really didn’t like him anymore.